Sydney lawyer appeal against ASIC ban dismissed

The Federal Court of Australia has denied an appeal put forward by a Sydney lawyer and accountant, following ASIC placing a permanent ban on him providing financial services.

Yingjie Wang (also known as Jay Wang) has had his appeal dismissed by the Federal Court of Australia, after it found he acted dishonestly while providing financial services.

"In February 2017 ASIC permanently banned Mr Wang from providing financial services after finding that he had acted dishonestly in causing Easy Capital Global Pty Ltd to use an investor’s money for unauthorised purposes, and that he was not of good fame or character," a statement from the corporate watchdog said.

"At the time of the relevant conduct Mr Wang was a director and sole signatory of the bank account of Easy Capital Global Pty Ltd, a company which held an Australian financial services licence.

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"Mr Wang subsequently appealed the banning decision to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and then, to the Federal Court of Australia."

In dismissing Mr Wang’s appeal, the Federal Court upheld the AAT’s findings that Mr Wang: “had a dishonest state of mind when he transferred an investor’s money from Easy Capital Global Pty Ltd’s Australian bank account to the bank account of a company in the Seychelles with which Mr Wang had a very close relationship, at a time when he knew the investor was claiming the return of his money; sent emails to the investor that were misleading; and is not of good fame and character”.

Furthermore the court found the misleading emails sent by Mr Wang to the investor “was conduct in relation to a financial product for the purposes of s1041H of the Corporations Act (contrary to the AAT’s finding)”.

Commenting on the decision, ASIC Deputy Chair Dan Crennan QC said: “The Federal Court’s decision demonstrates that ASIC’s administrative decision making is robust and that ASIC’s banning decisions, which are key protective measures, are well capable of withstanding multiple challenges”.

"ASIC’s banning powers are vitally important such that ASIC can directly and expeditiously remove anyone who acts dishonestly from the financial services industry."

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Sydney lawyer appeal against ASIC ban dismissed

Emma Ryan

Last Updated: 07 August 2019
Published: 07 August 2019

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